As Australian dairy farms have expanded and herd sizes grown, the demand for skilled labour has increased —but finding local workers can be challenging. In this episode, we explore how employing overseas staff through various visa options and the Dairy Industry Labour Agreement can help fill the gap.

Migration agent Fadi Malek, who is Director of Global Skilled Employment Services and NSW dairy farmer Andrew Farr join us to unpack the process of registering, recruiting, and employing international workers. While not a one-size-fits-all solution, overseas labour—when managed well—can be a rewarding option for both employers and employees.

Join us in our milestone 50th podcast, to learn about the opportunities, challenges, and practical steps involved in bringing skilled workers to your farm.

Topics include:

• Types of visas – what might suit your situation
• Worker rights and pay rates
• Dairy Industry Labour Agreement (DILA)
• Registering as a potential overseas labour employer
• Effective working relationships and cultural considerations
• Assistance with recruitment and immigration processes

Learn more:

The People in Dairy – Hiring people from overseas.

Dairy Australia fact sheets:

Dairy Industry Labour Agreement (DILA) – What you need to know.

DILA - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Global Skilled Employment Services.

This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries

It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services

Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com

Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include;

NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page

NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries

Transcript here

The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

Producing milk with less lactose – why might this be important? Our guest this month is Juan Garguilo, one of my NSW DPIRD colleagues. Juan has been involved in a number of research projects as part of the NSW Dairy Up R& D initiative and if you are a long-term listener of this podcast, you will have heard his Argentinian accent before!

Juan, in conjunction with other well known dairy researchers, Professor Yani Garcia (University of Sydney) and Russ Hovey (University of California – Davis) has analysed the lactose content in milk – lactose being a milk solid that you don’t normally hear too much about. Understanding and manipulating lactose content of milk may have farm level and industry level benefits as described by Juan in discussion with Zita Ritchie in this podcast.

Project Update – Producing Milk with less lactose

DairyUp website

Journal of Dairy Science paper

This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries

It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services

Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com

Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include;

NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page

NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries

Transcript here

Produced by Video Lift

The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

We are now entering milk pricing season in the Australian dairy industry, which means there will be plenty of headline news as we head into milk processors announcing prices on the 1st June as required under the mandatory Dairy Code of Conduct.

Joanne Bills, Director of the Global Insights team with Ever.Ag (Freshagenda) outlines their forecast around milk pricing with particular reference to the NSW industry and we also discuss some of the implications of the Trump Administration’s tariff announcements on the Australian dairy industry.

Milk Value Portal (MVP)

Fresh Agenda Quarterly Insights Report (MVP)

Farmgate Milk Value tool (MVP - calculator)

This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries

It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services

Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com

Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include:

NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page

NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries

Transcript here

Produced by Video Lift

The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.